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ACVS Diplomate Maintenance of Certification Approved Activities List

(Activities updated in January 2019 show an * in the points column)

Diplomates must acheive a total of 100 activity points. A minimum of 70 activity points must be within the Diplomate’s respective specialty of certification (Small Animal or Large Animal). Not more than 30 activity points will be accepted in other specialties or human training.

Category 2: Attendance at Diplomate-level national or international surgical meetings
(upload copy of program schedule and CE certificate or certificate of attendance)

5 per meeting day
max. 50 per cycle

Category 3: Attendance at Diplomate-level national or international surgical laboratory training
sessions (upload copy of program schedule and CE certificate or certificate of attendance)
A half-day laboratory is defined as 4 hours.

5 per full laboratory day
(3 per half-day laboratory)
max. 50 per cycle

Category 4: Attendance at human surgery specialty (clinical or research) meetings
(upload copy of program schedule and CE certificate or certificate of attendance)

5 per meeting
max. 30 per cycle

Category 5: Attendance at national veterinary specialty meeting, non-surgery topic
(upload copy of program schedule and CE certificate or certificate of attendance)

Presentation of original material at Diplomate-level national or international meetings designated as Category 1, 2, or 3 above
(upload copy of abstract or proceeding)
Minimum of 30-minute presentation. No partial credit given.

5 per ½ hour, 10 per hour

Presentation of original material in brief abstract form at Diplomate-level national or international meetings designated as Category 1, 2, or 3 above
(upload copy of abstract or proceeding)

2 points per presentation under 30 minutes

Presentation of original material as a scientific poster at Diplomate-level national or international meetings designated as Category 1, 2, or 3 above
(upload copy of poster abstract or proceeding)

2 points per presentation

Continuing education lecture and/or laboratory (non-original material) at national or international meetings
(upload copy of abstract or proceeding)

Presentation to local / state / regional veterinary group
(upload copy of abstract or proceeding)

2 per presentation
max. 30 per cycle

Resident Advisor or primary advisor for a presentation by a student / intern / resident lecturing at a national or international scientific meeting (upload copy of abstract or proceeding or other proof of formal mentoring relationship with the presenter)

1 per lecture
max. 25 per cycle

Publications / Accepted Manuscripts

These may be published works or manuscripts currently accepted for publication. See Appendix C for requirements for original material.

Maximum points allowed

Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as first author.
(upload reference or journal acceptance letter for each publication)

20 per publication

Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as primary advisor behind an ACVS resident as first author. Only the primary advisor of an ACVS resident-authored paper can claim 10 points. Other contributing authors should claim 5 points as non-first author (see next option).
(upload reference or journal acceptance letter for each publication)

10 per publication

Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as non-first author
(upload reference or journal acceptance letter that includes the Diplomate name as an author for each publication). If the journal acceptance letter does not list all authors, an accompanying assertion of authorship by the journal editor or senior author is required to validate points awarded in this category.

5 per publication

Publication of review articles as first author
(upload reference for each publication)

10 per publication*

Publication of case reports, etc. as first author
(upload reference for each publication)

5 per publication

Publication of textbook chapters as sole author or as co-author
(upload reference for each chapter)

10 per chapter (sole author)
5 per chapter (co-author)

Author of ACVS “Animal Health Topic” articles and “Surgery STAT” articles accepted by the Public Outreach Committee
(upload notification of acceptance from the Public Outreach Committee).

Reviewer of “Animal Health Topics” or “Surgery STAT” articles for the Public Outreach Committee

1 per article
max. 25 per cycle

Reviewer of ACVS Surgery Summit scientific abstracts

2 per year of service

Resident Advisor for ACVS Registered Residency Training Program

Program must have a valid registration with ACVS during the effective dates of supervision in order to receive points. If a program’s registration is suspended, the period of time between the suspension and reinstatement of registration cannot be counted toward maintenance of certification.

Completion of an approved online training/assessment module. (upload notification of approval by MCC)

TBD
(max 10 points per module)

Creation of an original online training/assessment module which receives approval by the MCC for use by ACVS Diplomates for maintenance of certification.

TBD
(max 20 points per module)

Additional Activities Approved by the Maintenance of Certification Committee (MCC)

All such requests may be submitted to the MCC any time prior to the activity or not later than 90 days after the activity concludes. Requests submitted more than 90 days after the activity will not be considered for individual activity points. NOTE: Diplomates certified in 2016 have until July 31, 2018 to submit requests for evaluation of additional activities completed in 2016.

Maximum points allowed

A Diplomate may submit a written request to the MCC for a specific activity to be approved for maintenance of certification points. An activity is approved for the requesting Diplomate-only.
Examples include surgery-related case reports with an attached literature review, surgery case logs detailing cutting-edge case care, meetings that are not automatically recognized, etc.

Maximum 50 points/MOC cycle. Number of points are designated upon approval by the MCC.

Category 4:

American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress
Orthopedic Research Society
Society for Surgical Oncology

Category 5:

American Association of Equine Practitioners
American Association of Bovine Practitioners
American Board of Veterinary Practitioners
American Board of Veterinary Toxicology
American College of Animal Welfare (provisional recognition)
American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
American College of Poultry Veterinarians
American College of Theriogenologists
American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia
American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology
American College of Veterinary Dermatology
American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
American College of Veterinary Microbiologists
American College of Veterinary Nutrition
American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
American College of Veterinary Pathologists
American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine
American College of Veterinary Radiology
American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
American College of Zoological Medicine
American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care
American Veterinary Dental College
European College of Zoological Medicine
European College of Animal Reproduction
European College of Bovine Health Management
European College of Equine Internal Medicine
European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine
European College of Porcine Health Management
European College of Poultry Veterinary Medicine
European College of Small Ruminant Health Management
European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
European College of Veterinary Behavioural Medicine - Companion Animals
European College of Veterinary Comparative Nutrition
European College of Veterinary Clinical Pathology
European College of Veterinary Dermatology
European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging
European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Companion Animals
European College of Veterinary Neurology
European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
European College of Veterinary Pathology
European College of Veterinary Public Health
European College of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology
European Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Congress*
European Veterinary Dentistry College
European Veterinary Parasitology College
ISELP (International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology)
Veterinary Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group

Approved Online Training/Assessment Modules for Activity Points*

Only listed ACVS Educational Partners webinars are approved for Diplomate use at this time.(see ACVS list) Diplomates must submit a pre-approval request to the MCC in order to use other online training / assessment modules for maintenance of certification. The request must include a detailed description of the activity, expected learning outcomes and expected Diplomate time and effort expended. The MCC will evaluate the applicability and depth of content for relevance to Diplomate continuous professional development. The MCC will make every effort to determine the acceptability of and the points to be awarded for each activity submitted within 3 weeks of receiving the request. However, the determination of the points to be awarded to a Diplomate for creation of an original online training / assessment module may take longer than 3 weeks depending on the complexity of the proposal submitted.

Requirements for Original Material*

1. Presentations are considered original if they originate from work done by the presenter as primary investigator or as immediate supervisor/Resident Advisor for the project.
2. Manuscripts considered as original work must adhere to the following guidelines and must follow a scientific approach, containing:

an introductory statement which summarizes the reason for the study,

a clearly stated hypothesis or objective,

an appropriate description of techniques used to satisfy the hypothesis or objective,

a report of the results appropriate to the study,

a discussion which interprets the results and relation to the original hypothesis or objective, and